A surprise win at Wolves on Saturday ended a six game losing streak for QPR and set them up nicely for Monday's visit from Ipswich.
Mercantile Credit Trophy >>> Monday January 2, 2017 >>> Kick Off 15.00 >>> Weather — Bright, sunny, cold >>> Loftus Road, London, W12
Having said the problems with the current QPR team appeared more deep rooted than something which was simply waiting for a spawny late victory achieved against the run of play by a scrappy goal going in off somebody’s arse, Rangers did duly secure a spawny late victory against the run of play with a scrappy goal going in of Pawel Wzsolek’s arse at Wolves on Saturday.
As mentioned previously, the troughs in form during Ian Holloway’s first stint as manager were turned around by big results sparked by the arrival of surprise new players. First time around, in 2001/02, Kevin Gallen re-signed for the club in the wake of a 4-0 loss at Swansea in the FA Cup and a 4-0 victory against Swindon was secured. A year later, a dreadful run that included the Vauxhall Motors debacle and the failure against nine man Luton amongst others was broken when Lee Cook was signed and Gino Padula was finally given a start. That turn round began with a couple of scrappy Christmas wins, notably at home to Barnsley, and built to a play-off push.
Perhaps Ian Holloway’s wild-looking team selection at Wolves, and the result it achieved, will turn out to be more than simply stopping a rot. Pawel Wzsolek, Idrissa Sylla, ignored initially by the new manager, both played key roles. Jamie Mackie, finally fit to start, made a big difference. Several players with big reputations and high standing at the club who’ve been playing poorly were all unavailable. It might be a big turning point in the season.
The headline inclusion was Ryan Manning. Signed from Galway in 2015, when the Republic of Ireland youth international placed his faith in QPR’s promise of first team opportunities and turned down bigger, Premier League clubs to move to Loftus Road, the 90 minutes at Molineux were his first in hoops in two years at the club. It was a big ask as well — ostensibly a left footed winger, but used more centrally for the under 23s this year, asking Manning to play his first ever Football League game away from home, at a notoriously hostile ground, in a team that had lost its last six matches, in the centre of midfield, next to a "27 year old” lump who can’t run, was a big, almost unfair, ask. But, by all accounts, Manning handled it brilliantly.
If we’re talking about lessons and parallels from history it reminded me a bit of the circumstances behind Richard Langley’s breakthrough. In 1998/99 QPR had changed managers at the start of October hoping the second coming of a legendary former boss — Gerry Francis in this instance — could turn around a seemingly terminal slump. The hoped-for new manager bounce didn’t materialise and Rangers went on a five game losing run (sounds familiar). Francis was so short of players for the sixth game in that run, a midweek game with Barnsley, he concocted a plan with the groundsman to try and waterlog the pitch and get it postponed to a later date. When that failed, he took a punt on Langley in the middle of midfield — one goal and one assist for the teenage midfielder on his full debut later and a 2-1 win had been secured, which was swiftly followed with a 2-0 win against Bolton.
If Manning has the career, at QPR and overall, that Langley managed, despite a horrible knee injury, he’ll have done alright for himself.
But, reality check, this bi-polar, nervous twitch attitude our whole club — board and supporters in particular — have to individuals is a big part of QPR’s problem. Manning is neither the messiah nor a very naughty boy, the result at Wolves is neither the holy grail nor a total irrelevance. We, as a club, set upon individuals like a pack of wild dogs, and we need to stop it. Players out of form are a "disgrace” while any youth teamer who gets a sniff is "the new Clive Allen”. We need to stop this. It’s making it so much more difficult, particularly in a period of time when the board listens so closely to what the chattering masses send them via social media.
No doubt if Manning isn’t picked tomorrow against Ipswich, and the result doesn’t go our way, then Holloway will be absolutely pilloried for changing a winning team, picking favourites, ignoring Manning etc.. That would completely ignore the fact the Wolves game could easily have been lost, there’s only 48 hours between the matches, and asking a kid to make his debut and then play again a day later is a tall order and so on. Nobody had really heard of Ryan Manning two days ago and one lucky win later he’s got to be the first name on the team sheet.
We do this all the time as a club. Love a new signing, a new player, and yet give up on people ridiculously early and then aggressively demand their removal and some more new blood.
Everybody, for instance, has decided that Ben Gladwin is rubbish. Maybe he is, but even if you attend every single minute of every single QPR game the absolute most you can possibly have seen of Ben Gladwin across 18 months is eight starts and eight sub appearances — because that’s all he’s made. But that’s enough for some — try my Ben Gladwin pub game round Shepherd’s Bush tomorrow where you mention his name casually and then force whoever says "fucking rubbish” first to buy you a drink if they can’t get within ten of the number of starts he’s made. And that’s without getting into how much harder the QPR public have made it for Gladwin, a young boy trying to climb up from non-league while his own supporters very openly and vocally make it clear they think he isn’t good enough.
Chris Ramsey was rubbish, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was rubbish, Paul Konchesky was rubbish, Karl Henry is rubbish and so it goes on. Always a scapegoat. We’re always, according to the supporters, and the board who listen far too much to what they’re Tweeted, just one or two individuals away from being fine. Get rid of that manager, and that player, and we’ll sweep all before us. Get Clement or Rowett or Pearson and everything will be rosy.
Karl Henry has made one start and one 28-minute substitute appearance during the recent six match run of defeats. So taking him out of the team didn’t have the cleansing effect his many critics insisted it would after all. But nobody mentions that, because they’re too busy chasing the next QPR player out of the QPR team — currently a four horse race between Perch, Onuoha, Luongo and Chery. We’ve decided they’re all shit now, and we’d be better off without them, and one streaky win at Wolves proves it.
We’re like lazy Cluedo players, just calling out random names and weapons rather than moving around the board and playing the game properly. Karl Henry, in the middle of midfield, with too many sideways passes — oh no, still losing. Ok, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, in the dugout, with the negative team selections — oh no, still losing. Nedum Onuoha, in the heart of the defence, with a lack of leadership skills…
The pursuit of Onuoha, in particular, sums it up. Half decent centre half playing very poorly. That’s it. Nothing more. Just a mediocre player out of form, low on confidence, playing really, really badly. But this is growing into the idea that he’s been the problem all along, he’s the worst player we ever had, worst defender since Gus Caesar and so on. Even more laughable are the assessments of his ability as a captain, and how he doesn’t lead the team adequately. Now there is clearly a lack of backbone and grit and determination and leadership in the team overall, but unless you’re in the dressing room or out on the pitch how on earth would you know whether Nedum Onuoha is a good captain or not? I’m not arguing that he is, I’m asking how the hell you’d know from halfway up the Ellerslie Road stand?
We’ve been doing this for years now — the supporters and the board. Mark Hughes, Shaun Wright Phillips, Matt Phillips, Tom Carroll, Jose Bosingwa, Joey Barton, Harry Redknapp, Jordan Mutch, Ramsey, Ferdinand and so on. We go after them lustily to start with, because we love a new signing and a big name and an unveiling and a social media campaign and a Vine of their first training session, and we love whoever we’d decided was shit being replaced. But then we give up on them ridiculously quickly, and start shouting at them during games telling them they’re a "useless cunt”. Some of them are, but it’s a wonder there’s any parrrafin left in the city given the amount of times we get the pitch forks out and the flaming torches lit.
It’s like whack a mole, but we don’t notice we’ve been standing there with the mallet in our hands for five years now, shovelling money into the slot, with the score remaining at zero — we just keep standing there, wild eyed, angrily jabbing the hammer, completely certain that we’re only one more pesky mole away from eternal salvation.
The results didn’t get any better for getting rid of Ramsey, or Hasselbaink, or Henry, or Gladwin, or Phillips, or Fer. And they won’t get better for getting rid of Onuoha or Perch or Luongo or Chery or Ferdinand. But this never dawns on people who are presumably too busy sizing up the next target.
Manning is the flavour of this week, and we’re all quite taken with the idea of Doughty and Furlong coming back from Swindon and being given a go, but none of them will be allowed three bad games on the trot before the "not good enough, need better, only here because of his dad, only here because of Ferdinand’s agenda, need better signings, need to start Sandro, sign Ravel Morrison, sign Jordan Rhodes” stuff starts.
The collective we need to stop treating this like a bloody fox hunt.
Links >>> Bruno’s five minute knockout — History >>> Harrington in charge — Referee >>> Frustration growing with Ipswich — Interview
A wonderful headed goal from big Devon White at the end of a brilliant passing move makes it 2-0 against Ipswich at Loftus Road in October 1993 — the R’s went on to win the game 3-0 with two from Bruno and a goal from Simon Barker.
Team News: An intriguing team selection from Ian Holloway on Saturday seemingly had one eye on this match 48 hours later, but having won that game it now remains to be seen what team turns out against the Tractor Boys. We know for certain that Nedum Onuoha has served his one match suspension and is available again, and one would think that two games in three days will be far too much for "27 year old” Sandro to stand for his biblical wage. We wait on the various strains and pulls afflicting Massimo Luongo, Tjaronn Chery, Seb Polter and others.
Ipswich recalled Myles Kenlock, Kevin Bru and Grant Ward for their first game this weekend against Bristol City which they won 2-1. With an extra day to recover all three will be hopeful of keeping their places. Andre Dozzell impressed against City but defender Luke Chambers has been linked with a January move to Wolves.
Elsewhere: Here we are ready for the 4,720th round of this season’s Mercantile Credit Trophy, coming just 20 minutes after the end of the 4,719th.
It is, for once, a full programme of 12 fixtures all taking place at the same time on the same day. And there’s a bit of everything for the dedicated masochist here — Wigan Warriors v Borussia Huddersfield for instance.
The Champions of Europe have a Yorkshire, Yorkshire, Yorkshire derby with Relegated Rotherham. Had things been different (i.e. if things had worked out as Neil Warnock thought they would) then the match between Cardiff and Leddersford would have been part of the Seventh Annual Neil Warnock Farewell Tour with the big man in the opposite dug out. As it is, the revival of the Red Dragons is taking a while to gather pace and they’ll have all on with Steve Bruce’s side.
Tarquin and Rupert had a game abandoned at Reading when a light mist drew in, their opponents Promoted Brighton didn’t even get that far against Cardiff so both will be reasonably fresh for their brunch by the Thames. Reading, meanwhile, go to the out of form Wurzels who’ve quietly lost 11 of their last 14 games.
The Carrot Crunchers are on a similar stretch of eight defeats from 11 as they prepare to welcome the Derby Sheep, Nottingham Trees v Barnsley is the most nailed on ‘both teams to score’ bet ever staged while Sheffield Owls host Wolves in what the laws of nature tell us should be an absolute bloodbath.
The Mad Indian Chicken Farmers host Newcastle in a Sky game. Nigel Clough’s Burton Albion and Preston Knob End will be preceded by a candlelit vigil for Doris who was a dinner lady at Jamie Ward’s junior school but has come down with a heavy cold over Christmas.
And a match between two teams beginning with B of course — Birmingham v Brentford. What a start to the year. What a time to be alive.
Referee: Tony Harrington is your man in the middle for this one, his first outing at Loftus Road since the test match with Swindon Town went the full five day distance back in August — a ball ache he did more than his fair share to prolong. Full details of that, and his recent stats, are available here.
QPR: Rangers snapped a run of six straight defeats with the New Year’s Eve win at Wolves. Idrissa Sylla’s goal was the R’s first in five matches — some 462 minutes — and the 2-1 win was only the second time Rangers have scored more than once in a game in 13 outings. They haven’t scored three since the opening day thrashing of Leeds. QPR have already lost six (Preston, Brentford, Derby, Villa, Newcastle, Wolves) of 12 home games this season with just three wins against Leeds, Norwich and Bristol City. Rangers have won the last three meetings between these two sides at Loftus Road without conceding a goal. Rangers have lost their last three home matches — they haven’t lost four in a row at home since the Division Three South days of 1953.
Ipswich: Ipswich’s 24 goals scored this season is the worst total in the league apart from QPR’s 22 and Wigan’s 20. Just eight of those goals have come on the road (only Villa have managed fewer, seven) but that has been enough to get them three wins (Derby 1-0, Sheff Wed 2-1, Wigan 3-2) and two draws (Blackburn, Wolves, both 0-0). They come into this one in very inconsistent form — two wins from the last three games but five wins, five draws and seven defeats from the last 17 games.
Prediction: Reigning Prediction League champion Dylan Pressman tells us…
"We are going on a run in the New Year and Ipswich are going to play their part. Sylla to score the first as we make it two wins in a row.”
Dylan’s Prediction: QPR 2:1 Ipswich. Scorer — Idrissa Sylla
LFW’s Prediction: QPR 0-0 Ipswich. No scorer.
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